FAÇADE GREENING: A CASE STUDY FROM MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Despite increasing interest in façade greening, there is little published research in the area. This paper describes the results of a study of the façade greening at Council House 2 (CH2) in central Melbourne, Australia. Located on nine levels of the northern side of the building, the installation consists of 90 modular planters placed on balconies external to the building and supported by a 150 mm gauge stainless steel X-tend™ mesh trellis. 164 plants from five different species were planted in August 2006: Clematis aristata, Kennedia rubicunda, Kennedia nigricans, Pandorea pandorana, Trachelospermum jasminoides. Evaluation in March 2008 showed a 61% ‘failure’ (death, poor cover) of all plantings. This ‘failure’ was caused by multiple factors including irrigation system failure, poor plant selection, plant quality, container substrate issues and problems in installation and establishment. The paper explores and discusses each of these factors in detail, particularly comparing species performance, site issues and substrate properties. It concludes by identifying some key research questions important to developing façade greening in the future.